Naruto: Clans of the Leaf
by SuperKayJin
Summary: <html><head></head>Among the founding clans of Konoha four are counted as the greatest...Senju, Uchiha, Hyuga and Namikaze and among all the Ninja clans of World one was feared above all...Uzumaki. The fate of the World is held by the heirs of the Clans of the Leaf.</html>
1. Prologue

**NARUTO CLANS OF THE LEAF**

**PROLOGUE**

**Introductions**

**Konoha Memorial Grounds**

Kakashi really hated his job sometimes. He was about to meet his potential Genin team and from what he had seen before it was not going to go well. If he had to describe them, it would have to be 'too clever and talented by half'. They were possibly the three most gifted Genin Konoha had ever seen and it was his duty now to guide them as their Jonin instructor.

What set all three of them apart were their Clans and their bloodlines; Namikaze-Uzumaki, Uchiha and Hyuga.

He looked at his watch and noted the lateness of the hour. By coming to the Konoha Memorial Stone he had once again become lost in memories. By his estimate they would have been waiting for three hours and that was likely to not go well with them.

"Well Obito, wish me luck" he said softly and he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

**Konoha Ninja Academy**

He made his way to the Academy to meet his new students and quickly arrived at the large circular, double story building that served as the starting point for all Konoha Ninja. He took his time to look at it and reflect upon the past.

Unlike him, his students had gone through three years of training with little to no combat experience. He was five years old when he graduated and moved out into the field, these brats were twelve which made them relatively ancient.

He well understood the change in the Konoha training system. Although they were considered geniuses they were not rushed through the Academy. There were no major wars bleeding Konoha of able bodied ninja's and Konoha had recovered from the Kyubi attack to once again be the pre-eminent Hidden Village. There were enough missions and there were enough experienced Ninja to prevent the next generation from facing incredible danger before their time.

He himself had left ANBU because his skills and talents were no longer needed in that branch. The missions assigned to the ANBU did not require a man of his incredible talents and he felt he better served the Village as a High level Jonin.

Although he was not one to brag, Kakashi still understood that his reputation was well earned. He was a skilled Ninja and no one could take that away from him. There was no need for self-deprecating humility. He was what he was.

The son of the White Fang of Konoha, a ninja on the same level as the Sannin. He was a former student of the Legendary Fourth Hokage. He was the man who had inherited Obito's Sharingan and used it to protect his Village as Obito would have done. And finally he was Kakashi.

Kakashi inserted his hands into his pockets and stepped into the Academy. He made his way up the stairs to the second floors, main lecture room where his prospective students would be waiting.

He came to the door, grabbed the handle and slid the door open. He entered the room slowly and looked up to see if his prospective students were here.

He first saw a young girl with dark blue, almost black hair, sitting in the front row. Her hair was in a bowl cut that had two thick bangs framing her face which went to just below her chin. She was a cute child and she had a small smile on her face. The most prominent aspect about her though was her eyes.

They were unmistakably the eyes of a Hyuga. Pale pupil-less eyes but uncharacteristically hers had a tint of lavender in them.

She was wearing dark blue ninja pants and a heavy beige jacket that came to just below her waist. On the front of the Jacket there was delicately embroidered symbol. It was a solid golden circle with lines running through it and dividing it into eight different sections. This was fitting as the name Hyuga meant 'Towards the Sun' and their Clan followed the Eight Trigrams principle. Her Forehead protector was loosely tied around her neck fitting snugly along the jackets collar.

She was well presented and carried herself with a dignified air.

"Yo" Kakashi said in greeting. "Where are the other two?"

_This is the heiress of the Hyuga Clan, Hinata Hyuga, and a genius kunoichi of the clan who has inherited the deeper powers of the Byakugan._

Hinata turned to him with a slight look of annoyance.

'_She is angry that I'm late but she won't say anything. Thank goodness for Hyuga manners_' He thought to himself.

She did not reply to his question instead she looked up. Kakashi followed suit and saw the other two Genin standing upside down on the ceiling.

One had black hair that was spiked at the back and had thick spiky bangs in front. This one wore a dark blue shirt with a high collar and on its back was the Fan that served as the Uchiha Clan symbol. His Forehead protector was tied on his forehead.

_Uchiha Sasuke, the boy whose skills were said to rival Itachi at that age._

The other boy had blond spiky that seemed to defy gravity. He wore an orange jumpsuit which had a white round collar and it was dark blue on the shoulders. On his back there was a red circle with a black line that spiralled towards the centre of the circle. The symbol was familiar to him because it was on his own Konoha uniform. It was the symbol of the Fallen Whirlpool Country. On his left shoulder the boy wore a talisman. It had two thick, brown cylindrical rods that framed a pale lavender circle. There was a thick white line that formed a spiral within the circle completing the talisman.

_Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, the son of the Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, the boy who had inherited the two unique bloodlines and a very heavy burden._

Kakashi cleared his throat.

"While I commend you both for being adept at chakra control enough to perform to walk on the ceiling, I must admit that I can't find a reason why you would be doing it right now." He said calmly.

The blonde boy was about to speak but Kakashi continued. "I really don't care why you're up there. Just meet me on the roof so that we can begin"

Kakashi then disappeared in a cloud of smoke and made his way to the roof of the building.

He moved to a convenient bench and sat down. He took the moment to assess his first impression of them. _'Those brats are very advanced_ _and Hinata did not seem too impressed which means she is on the same level or even higher. This is gonna be interesting_'

He heard the door to the roof open and he saw the Hyuga walk through it. She was followed quickly by the other two.

He could tell from her raised eyebrows that she was curious about this meeting while the other two seemed to be indifferent to it. Instead there was a barely simmering tension between the two boys. It showed in the way they walked next to each other yet were miles apart.

Now that he thought about it he could see that they had an intense rivalry that pushed them on. Ironically that did not make them the strongest. That was surprisingly the place of the Hyuga heiress who fittingly walked in front of them. He could see it by the way they deferred to her, she walked in the middle them and in front of them.

It made him want to laugh out loud but he managed to smile, once again thankful for his mask hiding his face. It did more than just make him look super cool.

"Good afternoon Master" Hinata said in a soft but confident voice. She took a seat on the ground in front of him.

"Master" Naruto greeted in a vibrant tone. Kakashi got a good look at the boy and noted his uncanny resemblance to his Master. His deep blue eyes reflected an inner mischievousness that contrasted with his recorded genius behaviour.

"Sup" Sasuke said in a bored tone which earned him a stern look from Hinata. "I mean Master" Sasuke recovered.

'_Seems she has them well under hand_'

"Well sorry I was late back there" Kakashi said.

"We don't need to hear your excuse." Hinata interrupted in all seriousness.

"Why is that?" Kakashi asked. This girl was obviously not too impressed by him.

"Hinata made us do some research when we heard that the famous Copy Ninja Kakashi would be our Master" Naruto said with a grin.

Kakashi was silent as he realized that even though he was studying them they were in turn studying him.

_Prodigies indeed_

"Anyway, let's get down to introductions." He said. "My name is Kakashi Hatake." He paused for a moment. "I don't really feel like telling you about the things I like and the things I don't like." He paused again and he looked to the top left in what he knew was the typical action when someone tried to recall something. "My dreams for the future are not relevant right now and as for my hobbies" he involuntarily brought his hand up to his mouth and giggled guiltily. "I have a lot of hobbies"

He turned to Hinata. "You next"

"Hey, all we got was your name" Naruto said.

"And that's all you're going to get for now" Kakashi said. "Now please give your teammate a chance to introduce herself."

Hinata smiled and started speaking. "My name is Hinata Hyuga, I like..." at this point she stopped and Kakashi noted a small blush on her face. She turned to glance at Naruto who was looking zoned out at the time. A disappointed look came to her face and she looked back to him. "I don't like prawns and crabs. My dream for the future is to become the best leader of the Hyuga clan and to change the rules for the Branch House and Main House."

She said it with a strong determination and Kakashi silently commended her attitude towards the problem.

"My hobbies are flower pressing and cooking." She finished.

"You next" Kakashi said pointing to Sasuke.

The Uchiha prodigy looked up and his black eyes locked with Kakashi's. "My name is Sasuke... Uchiha, there are tons of things I dislike but I really don't like anything except Sakura. I don't want to use the word 'dream', instead I will say I have an ambition." A look of anger passed through his eyes. "I have an ambition to kill a certain man-"

He was interrupted by Naruto. "It better not be me, you bastard!" he said out loud totally ruining the serious air around Sasuke.

"Relax it's not you dumb ass." Sasuke said in a different tone.

Kakashi realized that Naruto's interruption was actually deliberate. Sasuke was going to down the dark path of his past and Naruto had quickly pulled him back to the present.

"Anyway, my hobbies are training and taking walks." He finished.

Kakashi smiled at the brooding boy and then turned to Naruto. "Last but not least" he said.

"Finally it's time for the hero to take centre stage." Naruto jumped up and landed in between the group. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze!" he said in a shout. "I like Instant Ramen and hate the three minutes I have to wait for it to cook. My dream for the future is to become the Greatest Hokage and change the world. My main hobby is gardening" Naruto spoke in a rushed, hyper and excited tone and when he was finished he promptly sat back down "

"Ok that went better than I expected" Kakashi said after a few seconds of silence. "You three achieved the highest scores in the Academy, Hinata was first and Naruto and Sasuke were tied for second." He stood up and motioned for them to do the same. "While Logic dictates a certain balancing of teams, there were extenuating circumstances in this year's team selections."

"What were those circumstances?" Hinata asked.

"That's not too important right now but let's just say you're abilities have been noticed" he said. "Please meet me tomorrow at the Three Logs training area tomorrow for your graduation test." He said.

"What do you mean graduation test?" Naruto said with confusion evident on his face. "We just passed the graduation test yesterday" Naruto said.

"That was the Academy test" Kakashi said matter of fatly. "You honestly didn't think that was all it took to become a Ninja of Konoha right?" he asked.

"Hahaha, of course not, I obviously knew there was a lot more to it than that" Naruto said in a lame attempt at recovery.

"The Jonin instructors are required to administer a personal test of their choice to their respective students to ensure that they are ready take up the mantle of Ninja of Konoha." He paused and looked towards the Hokage Monument to add dramatic effect to his statements. "This is done to ensure that the little leaves watched over by the Hokage's are not destroyed in the Spring time of their Youth"

'_Damn, I'm even quoting Guy. I must be getting old_'

"That's just lame" Sasuke said interrupting the coolness of the moment.

"Stupid brat, you just ruined the moment." Kakashi bopped Sasuke on the head with the metal part on the back of his ANBU issue glove.

"Ow!" the Uchiha exclaimed grabbing his head.

"Meet me at the training grounds tomorrow at six o'clock sharp." He moved to the edge of the roof. "Oh a quick tip, don't eat anything, because you'll be likely to throw up"

The looks on their faces showed that they took every word he said seriously. They each nodded their understanding and Kakashi smiled.

'_These kids are really interesting'_

He spread his arms and fell leaned forward over the ledge and he fell to the ground below. He flipped over at the last minute and in the instant just before he landed on the ground he performed the **Shun Shin no Jutsu** and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"So he seems as cool as the rumours have said" Naruto remarked after Kakashi had left.

"Indeed, I guess this means things are going to get interesting" Sasuke confirmed.

"Maybe for you two" Hinata said. "Kami knows you have a long way to go before you reach my level"

Naruto chuckled. "You're just smug because you can use your bloodline to its fullest limit.

I'm on my way to that side too."

"Same here" Sasuke said. "You'll have to work twice as hard to keep your lead"

"Instead of talking, you should be training." she said.

"Yeah I think we need to work on that collaboration Jutsu" Naruto said with a mischievous smirk.

The others nodded and they all he Shun Shin no Jutsu and moved to the training ground at Naruto's estate.

End of Prologue

Omake

_The Village of Konoha was founded towards the end of the Warring States period. Founded on the revolutionary One Country, One Village system it offered a place for Clans and their followers to settle and live in relative peace._

_The Senju first proposed the plan to their closest allies, the Hyuga Clan and after acceptance brought it forward to their fiercest rivals the Uchiha and their closest allies, the small Namikaze Clan._

_It must be said the Hashirama Senju the man responsible for bringing the plan forward had first proposed it upon his return from a small country that was at the time barely worth noting._

_That Country was the Whirlpool Country home of the Uzumaki..._

_-A Treatise on Clans_

_Volume I-XII_


	2. Chp 1: Bell Test

NARUTO CLANS OF THE LEAF

CHAPTER ONE

BELL TEST

He arrived at the Three Logs training area which got its name from the Three Logs thick Logs that had been firmly planted into the ground. They were slightly taller then his one hundred and eighty one centimetres and closer to the top there were thick strands of rope coiled around them. The training area also had a large lake next to it and a large forest behind it.

At the moment it was completely empty.

"Where the heck are those brats?" he said out loud.

Kakashi saw a note on the ground and he approached it. He bent down and picked it up.

The word "BANG" was written on it in Kanji. Kakashi then looked down where the note had been and the black tracings of a seal appear on the ground. He quickly analyzed it and saw that it was a low level detection seal, coupled with an explosion seal.

He lazily jumped back and landed a safe distance away from the seal. Once the seal had fully materialized on the ground, it glowed a deep red and there was then a gathering of energy which quickly erupted into the sky.

"Damn brats" he said to himself.

A few minutes later his advanced sense of smell detected the three making their way to the training area

They all appeared as blurs and landed in front of him. Hinata was in the middle and Naruto and Sasuke were to her left and right respectively.

He could smell the food on their breaths and he sighed audibly knowing that his job just got a little bit harder.

"We kind of figured you would be late, so I set that up as a signal for us" Naruto said with pride.

"I can see that you are not an amateur when it comes to Sealing Jutsu" Kakashi complimented.

"It's sort of in the blood" Naruto replied with a grin.

"So now that you're here, can you please explain the test so that we can become Genin?" Hinata said in an exasperated tone.

"Of course, no need to get impatient." Kakashi said waving his hands to calm her down.

He then reached into his pockets and took out two bells. "This is test is quite simple but the consequences are quite severe. You have as much time as you need to get these two bells from me. Whoever gets a bell will officially become a Genin. Simple right?" he asked rhetorically. "Whoever doesn't get a bell goes back to the Academy and has to wait another year before they can try the again. Severe right?"

He saw them eyeing the bells and then each other sizing up their chances. The psychological profiles of the three classified them as geniuses who stood out and he knew from his own experiences that standing out meant isolation. That coupled with their Bloodline limits and their Clan backgrounds did not set them up as good team material.

"Before we begin I feel that I have to tell you that you must come at me with the intent to kill, otherwise you will stand no chance at all."

They all nodded. Kakashi saw that they all put on their game faces.

"Ok then" he raised his hand and brought it down in a chopping motion. "BEGIN!"

The three immediately disappeared and headed for the cover of the forest.

_Good, they are facing a powerful opponent and have chosen to pull back and watch_ _for_ _openings_. _Unfortunately for them I have none..._

He heard the whistling of air to his right and he turned to see a shuriken flying in his direction. He moved his head to the side and the standard Ninja weapon went flying past.

A second later a small cut appeared on his cheek.

He turned to see it fly clear across the field, over the lake, noting the displacement of water as it moved, until it the fence that was all the way on the other side. The protective barrier around the training ground ensured that no civilians would be harmed so he was not too worried about that.

He turned in the direction the Fuuton enhanced Shuriken had come from only to find no one there.

_He or she knew that they had exposed their position and they quickly moved away from it. Not bad at all..._

Kakashi suddenly smelled a presence behind him. He turned abruptly and was greeted by the Orange clad, mini copy his Master.

"I don't know about them, but I'm here to play and have fun" Naruto said confidently. He formed two ram seals and crossed them in front of himself forming a plus. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**"

Six clones of Naruto appeared in puffs of smoke.

'_A high level Jonin level technique and he performed it with ease_' Kakashi thought.

The clones came rushing at him at incredible speeds. Kakashi reacted instinctively jumping back high in to the air and creating distance between them. As he sailed through the air he reached for his forehead protector and raised it to reveal his Sharingan eye.

The Clones had been trying to circle him and so his move was the best one. He sailed through the air keeping his movements simple and clean.

When he landed a clone was already in his face aiming a right hook at him and having covered a distance of a hundred meters in a second. He parried the blow with his left hand and countered with a strong right uppercut destroying the clone. The others then closed in quickly stopping him from leaping away again. Their speed was incredibly fast and he was having a hard time keeping up with them even with the Sharingan.

The speed of the Shadow Clones made it slightly difficult for Kakashi to see through the attacks but his immense battle experience and his advanced Sharingan allowed him to land solid blows to clones and finally he took them all down. He looked up to see Naruto still standing in the same position he had been in. His head was cocked as if listening out for something and Kakashi's eye widened as he realized that Naruto had just assimilated battle data from the defeated clones.

'_Genius indeed'_

Naruto then launched himself at Kakashi. He came in very fast without too much wasted movement. He was definitely faster than his clones and Kakashi was truly impressed at Naruto's speed. Having seen Gai's student Rock Lee, he surmised that Naruto's speed was on the same level, if not higher. Unfortunately for Naruto, Kakashi had his Sharingan so he was able to defend against Naruto's incredibly fast Taijutsu style.

Kakashi was dodging all of the punches and kicks Naruto sent his way, but then Naruto suddenly had a burst in speed and he jumped up and aimed a kick to his head. Kakashi dodged the fast kick by spinning out of the way and using his own superior speed to appear behind Naruto. It was then that he decided to counter attack

"**Konoha Hidden Taijutsu: A Thousand Years of Death"** he aimed the Jutsu at Naruto's blind side.

He was truly shocked when his hands passed through Naruto. Naruto's form suddenly wavered and became insubstantial and then it dissipated into golden yellow chakra particles.

He had seen this kind of movement before and he knew it for what it was one of the Namikaze Bloodline Limit techniques. The** Zanzoken**.

"You're open" he heard Naruto's voice. **"Konoha Hidden Taijutsu: A Thousand Years of Death"**

Kakashi could not perform a substitution technique due to the speed of Naruto's attack. The drawback of the substitution technique occurred when one was faced with a fast opponent.

So in a burst of speed that surprised the young Ninja he dodged to the right. Kakashi saw Naruto attacking thin air and he smirked to himself.

'_He can use the Zanzoken that means I'm not safe' _His smirk quick fell away and as soon as he landed he got into a defensive position.

"You know it's useless to run" Naruto said. Kakashi turned only to find no one there.

"As a student of the Fourth, you've seen this before" the voice said from behind him again.

"Enough games" Kakashi said. He turned around and brought his hands together in a familiar seal. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**" he said.

A Shadow Clone appeared behind him and launched a kick at Naruto as he appeared but the result was the same. Naruto's body wavered and then dispersed into chakra particles.

"Like you said enough games" Naruto said as he appeared a few meters away from him. With the Shadow Clone at his back his blind spot was covered and he would be able to at least know when Naruto attacked.

Naruto couched down as if getting ready for a race. He bent his head down for a moment and then he finally looked up with a grin.

Naruto set off towards him and Kakashi's eye widened as he saw the number of Naruto's increase. Six separate Naruto's branched out from the original and attacked.

'_I couldn't even keep track of the original'_

Kakashi dispelled his shadow clone and prepared to receive Naruto's attack. The first one closed in right in front of him and he punched it. It maintained its form for longer than usual until a few seconds later when it finally dispersed into chakra.

Kakashi was attacking any and every Naruto he could see in his range and thanks to his Sharingan he was successful. Unfortunately he had still not hit the original Naruto.

Pretty soon the area was flooded with Naruto's heavy yellow, gold chakra and he still seemed to be all over the place. Kakashi could not easily predict his movements anymore.

_Truly a powerful bloodline..._

'_Gate of Opening, OPEN!'_ Kakashi mentally commanded his body and removed the first limiter thereby increasing his power. Naruto's specific attack patterns were using the information he had gained when his clones had fought him. So by opening the First of the Eight Gates Kakashi began utilizing Gai's strong Fist style.

This allowed him to mix it up and confuse his young opponent. Kakashi was rewarded when he was able to connect with the real Naruto. The punch he gave him sent the boy flying away.

Naruto rolled on the ground but he managed to check himself and spring up with his hands to land safely on his feet.

Without a moment of hesitation Kakashi raced forward to attack Naruto. The boy stood still waiting for Kakashi to reach him. Kakashi cocked his right hand back and thrust it forward when he reached Naruto. He saw his hand go through Naruto's after image as he knew it would.

He twisted his body in a one hundred and eighty degree turn blocked Naruto's surprise flying kick attack. Kakashi smirked and changed from blocking to countering by grabbing Naruto's leg and using his momentum to start spinning with the blond.

He was about to throw him away when the leg in his hands began to disintegrate into golden yellow chakra particles.

"Dammit" he swore as he realized that he could not waste time when it came to Naruto.

He looked around for the boy but he was nowhere to be found.

Kakashi was now standing closer to the lake and he quickly remembered a fact from the Genin profiles he had read. Hinata Hyuga was proficient in Water Ninjutsu.

He heard the sound of someone alighting lightly onto the water and he turned to see the Kunoichi going through a long set of hand seals that Kakashi recognized as the high level Water Release: Water Dragon whip.

Kakashi was truly shocked at the high level Jutsu Hinata was about to unleash.

He saw an orb of water begin to gather above Hinata as she still continued to form hand seals she finally ended on the Bird seal. "**Water Release: Water Dragon Whip**"

Thin, sharp whips of water began to emerge out of the orb. His Sharingan allowed him to easily track all five whips as they shot out at incredible speed towards him. Kakashi moved through them with ease and he began to approach Hinata. The whips were plunging into the ground causing it to become pock marked with holes and confirming to him how powerful the Jutsu was.

When he got onto the water he utilized his super speed to get behind Hinata. He heard her gasp in shock at his speed and he did not give her time to react. He aimed a chop to the back of her neck. As soon as his hit landed he knew that there was something wrong. The Hinata he attacked became translucent and her body was revealed to be made of water.

It was obvious that this was a trap and Kakashi leapt straight up into the air using chakra to greatly enhance his jump.

He looked down and saw a great build up of chakra below the water.

_She was hiding there the entire time preparing for that..._

He did not have to hear what she said for him to know that it was "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique"

He saw the lake literally change into a huge dragon's head that rose up to attack him. It opened its maw to swallow him up in the power raging current of its interior.

_She should know by now that Water can be used against you_

Kakashi performed a set of rapid hand seals.

"**Lightning Release: Ninja Armour**" he said and he was immediately surrounded by a huge current of electricity. The water dragon reached him and swallowed him up but as soon as it touched the lightning around him it lost its form and the huge current was transferred from him to the water.

It shot down at an incredible speed splitting the water dragon in half and finally enveloping the entire lake. The Jutsu's intensity was strengthened by the water and Kakashi knew that Hinata would be hard pressed to defend against such an attack.

He sailed back to the lake relatively unharmed and landed lightly. He covered up his Sharingan eye and began walking to the shore. Intense ripples suddenly appeared on the lake and he turned to see their source.

"The Hyuga ultimate defence" he said as he saw Hinata emerge from the water in a cocoon of pure chakra. Around her eyes were the tell tale veins that signified the Hyuga bloodline limit the Byakugan, although hers were fainter then what he had seen on others.

She dropped the shield and glared at Kakashi. She then took a step back, formed a hand seal and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Well I guess they are going to give the other one a chance now" Kakashi said as he turned back and continued towards the shore. "I think I won't make this easy" he said to himself. As soon as he set foot on the ground he melted into it.

'_Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish Technique, gotta love it.'_

Kakashi moved through the ground as if it was water. He moved deep within the forest and once he was happy with his location he resurfaced without disturbing the ground. Kakashi was an expert at tracking and within a few minutes he had located Sasuke through his scent.

Kakashi saw Sasuke crouching low behind some thick foliage.

Kakashi moved stealthily towards Sasuke and once he was in range he brought his hands together in a seal and cast a mid-level sound Genjutsu. He waited a few seconds for the Jutsu to take effect. Sasuke slumped over and fell down and that was the sign that the Jutsu was complete.

Kakashi came closer to Sasuke to check how badly he had been affected. When he reached down to touch him, the body became insubstantial and then turned into a dozen fledgling hawks flew away.

The reversal of the Genjutsu had been too flawless and it could only mean one thing.

Kakashi once again reached for his forehead protector and revealed his Sharingan. It immediately saw through the reversal Genjutsu Sasuke had cast by tracing the foreign chakra around him.

"Truly impressive" Kakashi said as he stared at an empty spot in front of a large oak tree.

After a few seconds the air in front of the tree wavered and a shape began to appear. "Thank you" came the disembodied voice of Sasuke. It finally resolved into Sasuke Uchiha and Kakashi confirmed his earlier theory.

Sasuke Uchiha had already unlocked his Sharingan. Kakashi counted two tomoe in both eyes.

Sasuke then dashed forward at incredible speed aiming for the bells. Kakashi smiled to himself and did not move. Sasuke grabbed the bells and immediately jumped back to put space between them.

"Well I guess I pass" Sasuke said with a smirk.

. "Well I wouldn't say that" Kakashi decided to end the counter, counter Genjutsu. He dispelled it and appeared right next to Sasuke.

They had been locked in a subtle Genjutsu battle and it was clear that Sasuke had come out the loser. He had truly believed that he had gotten the bells and when it came to Genjutsu, the one who was most sure, was the one who lost.

"Well I've seen enough of your skills" he said as he turned his back to Sasuke and immediately performed the **Leaf Body Flicker**.

He appeared a few seconds later in the spot where he had started. It was clear to him that individually they could not take him down and now he would see if they realized it too.

He pulled out his Make Out Paradise book and started to read it, to kill time. He heard the sound of footsteps approaching after a few minutes but he did not look up to see who it was.

"Master Kakashi, I think you should put away Ero Sennin's book, if you want to keep it safe" Naruto's voice suddenly said.

'_Ero Sennin'_ Kakashi thought to himself. '_He knows Jiraiya-sama...this boy...'_

"No I don't think I will do that." He said, not betraying his surprise. "None of you have been able to take me down so I'm not too worried. I have taken the measure of your skill and while you are all far advanced for Ninja your age, you are nothing compared to me"

"That is very true Master Kakashi" came Hinata's voice. She moved to join Naruto and there was a small smile on her face.

He heard the last one land next to the others. "We each wanted to see how we could fare against a legendary Jounin and sad to say we fared miserably" Sasuke said with annoyance clearly evident in his voice.

Kakashi was silent as he took in everything they had said. They had clearly divined the true test early on and it seemed that he was the one who had been played.

He watched Hinata step two meters in front of Naruto and Sasuke moved to stand next to Naruto.

Naruto and Sasuke went through a set of hand seals and they both held onto the last seal of their respective Jutsu's.

They both leapt into the air.

"**Fire Release: Jet Flare**" Sasuke shouted and he thrust his arms out. From in front of his palms two streams of intense fire blew out.

"**Wind Release: Godly Wind of the Mountains**" Naruto shouted and he extended his right arm out with the palm open and supported it with his left. A vortex of powerful wind emanated from just behind Naruto and concentrated in front of his palm where it then shot out at incredible speed.

Sasuke's fire had reached the ground and it was forming a large circle of fire around Hinata. Kakashi saw Naruto's powerful wind attack touch the flames and at the point of contact the fire changed. It moved from intense red to a seemingly cold blue. The wind continued to travel down the fire strengthening it tenfold, until Hinata was now surrounded by an intense blue fire that obscured her from his sight slightly.

'_What the heck are they doing?'_

A few seconds later Kakashi could not even see Hinata due to the intensity of the heat. He looked down at the base of the flames and his eye widened. The ground was becoming molten.

_Shit_

The unmistakable colour of chakra building up signalled the start of another Jutsu from deep behind the conflagration.

"**Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet**" came Hinata's voice. From the centre of the flame circle a dragons head emerged rising into the sky. It came swooping down and began to trace the path of the molten ground created by the far, swallowing it up.

Kakashi saw Hinata moving in a circular motion directing the Dragon. Once all the molten ground had been consumed the dragon spun into the air and came to face him. Its maw opened and Kakashi saw blazing heat from its centre.

The first bullet was relatively slow and he dodged it with ease. He quickly glanced at Hinata and saw her in deep concentration. The next bullet came and it was ten times the speed of the first one. Kakashi had a bit of trouble dodging it.

'_There's no way I can throw up a defence against that, I'll just have to take her down'_ Kakashi raced towards Hinata all the while ducking the molten salvos from the hulking Earth dragon. He was moving from side to side, jumping, dodging and ducking the powerful attacks and he was closing in on Hinata.

"**Fire Release: Phoenix Immortal Flower Jutsu**" Kakashi saw Sasuke appear in front of Hinata standing with his hand in front of his mouth. Sasuke blew out roughly twenty fire balls. That added with the Molten Bullet's stopped Kakashi short. He pulled back from his advance because he knew that soon Naruto would attack.

One of the fireballs that Sasuke fired began to waver and lose its flames but it was still going straight for him.

_This is it, the Flying Thunder God technique that no one else in the world could use._

The fireball was coming low and it finally fell away to reveal a three pronged kunai with a seal on its shaft. He had a moment to note the inverted out blades of the kunai which made the weapon much different than the one used by his Master.

Kakashi twisted his body easily to avoid it. Just then Naruto appeared right next to him and grabbed the bells. Kakashi made a token counter but his kick went through thin air.

He turned to see the flight of the Kunai but it had disappeared. He looked back and saw Naruto standing next to a clearly exhausted Hinata and Sasuke who was crouched on one knew. Naruto had the bells in his hand and a huge grin on his face.

The attack from the Dragon had stopped after Sasuke's attack and now it collapsed to the ground.

Kakashi pulled down his forehead protector over his Sharingan and paused for a moment to catch his breath.

After a minute he walked up to the three, noting the ruined earth all around them.

"Well it goes without saying, you all pass. You were able to use team work to obtain the bells and to top it all of you were able to combine your Jutsu's for an unstoppable attack." He complimented and before they could get big heads he added "I must admit though it was rather crude."

"It got the job done Master Kakashi" Hinata said. "And since we are going to be a team, it will mean that we will only get better". She said with a gentle smile.

Sasuke was smirking and Naruto was grinning like crazy.

"Spoken like a true Kunoichi" Kakashi smiled.

'_These kids are the next generation...'_

"Well ok then I will make it official. From this day forth the Genin Team Seven is born. You are hereby charged with the Protection of Konoha and the Will of Fire embodied by all who call it home."

They all erupted into happy cheers and laughter.

_I guess I will tell them tomorrow that this is only just the beginning of the long hard road to becoming Shinobi. I'll let them have today to celebrate._

"As our teacher you have to take us out to celebrate" Naruto said. "I know the perfect place"

"As if we don't know, dumb ass" Sasuke said.

"Shut up, bastard" Naruto countered and they both began to argue, shouting obscenities at each other.

"WILL YOU TWO GROW UP?" Hinata shouted and they immediately stopped. "I mean, Sasuke, Naruto, please be calm down, you're embarrassing us in front of our sensei"

"It's alright Hinata, boys will be boys." "Well I have some paper work to submit so you guys have a free day to relax. Tomorrow we will begin the next level of your training and the undertaking of a few missions." Kakashi said. "Meet me here tomorrow at eight o'clock sharp" he said.

"Yes Master" they all said in unison.

He disappeared in a puff of smoke and headed to the Hokage tower to report to the Sandaime.

Omake

_The Namikaze Clan was considered unique among all of the warring Clans of the Era. This was due to its small size. Many had even debated its Clan status due to that fact. The Clan itself had never numbered more than a dozen members at its peak and in that period the life of a ninja was easily taken but difficult to replace._

_The Namikaze Clan though emerged from that period as strong force. Their talent in pioneering Space Time Ninjutsu cemented their place in the Annals of History and silenced any of their critics._

_In the Warring Clans Era, they became strong arbiters, able to break a stalemate between two Clans by providing neutral communication paths. It was said by many that the Bloodshed was lessened whenever the Namikaze were called._

_At the end of the Warring Clans Era Hidden Villages were created by the joining of Clans._

_At the establishment of the Hidden Village of Konoha, the Namikaze were offered the honour of being the Fifth Noble Clan, but they declined that honour. Their last remaining family had rather elected to disappear, once the path to Peace was started._

_Thus they passed into relative obscurity. Relinquishing their role in the Peace of the world, but every once in a while they would appear._

_It must be noted that in their entire History there was one Clan that was mentioned along with them. Uchiha._

_A History of the Warring Clans Era_

_Volume XII Introduction to the Namikaze_

A.N: I noted all of the reviews for the previous chapter. This is an AU with the characters having my own spin on them. Their backgrounds will be revealed as the story progresses.

**TheRightWayAgain:** You saw through my plot no Jutsu. I actually wrote this like a year ago and have been polishing it up now and again.

Some of the things are just to set in for me to change, so all I can say is keep reading, if only to keep me honest.


	3. Chp 2: Team Seven

NARUTO CLANS OF THE LEAF

CHAPTER 2

TEAM SEVEN

Kakashi stared at the Memorial stone lost in his thoughts. He stared one more time at the names Obito Uchiha and Minato Namikaze.

He breathed a silent prayer and turned away. A single tear rolled down his eye, surprising even him and the words of his master came back to him.

'_Men cry not for themselves...but for their comrades'_

He wiped the tear away and headed to the training area where his team waited.

"I bet their just sitting around waiting for me" Kakashi said as he entered the grounds for the Three Logs training area.

The meeting with the Hokage had gone well and the Hokage had approved of the training schedule and method he was to employ with these above normal Genin.

He walked into the grounds and he was surprised at what he saw. Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke were all sitting in the lotus position atop the each of the three logs and they seemed to be meditating.

"Well this is a pleasant surprise" he said drawing their attention.

Naruto was the first one to open his eyes. "Master Kakashi you're finally here." He exclaimed as he unfolded his legs and stood up on the log. Naruto did a front flip off the log and landed in front of him.

Sasuke slowly unfolded his legs and then hopped off the log and walked closer to them. He inclined his head in greeting.

Finally Hinata gracefully stood up and jumped off the log. She came closer to him and bowed. "Good morning Master Kakashi" she said.

"Good morning" Kakashi greeted. "Once again I'm impressed at your discipline. Instead of slacking off you all decided to meditate and wait for my arrival"

"Nah, you got it all wrong. Hinata saw you coming and she suggested that we meditate to impress you" Naruto blurted out.

"You dumb ass" Sasuke said as he bopped Naruto on the head lightly.

Hinata giggled at her teammates antics.

"Well kids will be kids" he said. "Moving swiftly along, I submitted our team to the Hokage and he has approved." He reached into his Ninja utility pouch and pulled out three ID cards. He handed one to each of them. "These are your Ninja identification cards" he informed the trio. They each accepted the cards.

Kakashi decided to jump right into what he had to say since the kids had shown great intelligence and maturity that belied the twelve years.

"Ok, you are all very strong for your age, you carry powerful Bloodline Limits and you are well versed in the basics of being a Ninja." He said. He looked at each of them to make sure that they were giving him their full attention. "Due to your different upbringings and your innate nature you all have different ways of learning. So I am faced with the situation where you must all receive specialized training."

"So what are you going to do?" Naruto asked.

"Well I have come up with a way to train you and also train myself at the same time" Kakashi said. He formed to ram seals and crossed them in front of him. "**Kage****Bunshin****no****Jutsu**"

Two clones appeared right next to him.

"Yo" they said simultaneously.

"My Shadow Clones and I will handle each of your individual training and at the end of each day we will all meet to do our team training." He said. The clone to his right picked up where he left off. "We will be fitting in mission's in-between the training." the last clone then finished "Any questions?"

The three looked at him and stayed silent.

Naruto grinned "When do we start?"

"Right now" all three of them spoke in unison. Kakashi reached into his Ninja utility pouches and withdrew the elemental affinity paper.

"This is a special paper that will identify your respective elemental affinities" he handed one to each of them. "Channel your chakra into the paper and depending on its reaction we will find out your respective affinities" he checked to see if they all understood him. "Wind nature will split the paper in two, earth nature will cause it to turn to dust, water nature will cause it to dampen, fire nature will cause it to turn to ash, and lightning nature will cause it to crumple up."

They all seemed to grasp the concept and Kakashi was once again thankful that he had such a good team. "Ok let's start with you Sasuke" he said.

The Uchiha held the paper up and a look of concentration came to his face. The paper crinkled in the centre slightly and then it turned to ash. Kakashi was surprised at that because it meant that he was more similar to Sasuke then he had initially thought.

"Well looks like you have a Fire and a Lightning element. The fire is not surprising since you are part of the Uchiha Clan, but the lightning is. I guess the Sharingan is not the only thing we have in common." He eye smiled at the Genin and saw a small twitch of Sasuke's lip and he knew that he had suppressed a smile.

"Next up is Hinata" one of his clones said.

Hinata stepped forward and casually raised the paper. Unlike Sasuke it seemed like she did not even have to try at all to draw forth her chakra. The paper in her hand dampened for the most part and a dry small piece at the end also crumbled into dust.

"Hinata as I expected you are very strong in water and have a secondary earth affinity as well. I must say I'm surprised by your other affinities showing up so early and going by the others yours should be really surprising Naruto?"

The blond ninja stepped forward. "Well let's see what the hero has" he said brashly. Naruto raised the paper and concentrated on it for a moment. It split completely down the middle and indicated that Naruto had a wind affinity.

Nothing else happened to the paper. "What!" Naruto exclaimed. "How can I only have one when both Sasuke and Hinata have two" Naruto was clearly frustrated and he gripped the paper even tighter. "This thing must be broken Master" he said. He took one piece with his other hand and stared at them. A look of intense concentration came to his face.

"Hey Naruto that paper is very delicate and one hundred percent accurate. Besides wind Natured chakra is best suited to your close combat skills, so if you ask me, it's perfect" Kakashi said to the Genin.

"I never asked you" Naruto said rudely.

Kakashi was silent letting him vent his anger.

After a few moments the blonde gave up. He threw the papers down and stepped back next to his team mates. He had a pout on his face and it was clear that their first training session would not go smoothly.

"Ok in regards to the training, I have come up with a plan based on yesterday's test. From what I saw Hinata's Ninjutsu is very strong, Sasuke's Genjutsu is also of a high level and Naruto's Taijutsu is exceptional. Based on the above I have come up with a rotating training schedule. We will be working on your strengths and also covering any weakness you have."

They all nodded their understanding.

"Ok then you guys have the stage' Kakashi said to his clones.

The one to his left approached Hinata. "You and I will be going over your Ninjutsu and working on that for today. I'm sure your Taijutsu is excellent thanks to your Gentle Fist so after the Ninjutsu we will look at Genjutsu."

"Yes sir" she said.

"Good kid" the clone said. "Please follow me" he said and he performed the Shun Shin no Jutsu to appear on the other side of the Lake in the training area. Hinata also performed the Jutsu and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The next clone stepped up. "You and I will focus on Genjutsu and afterwards we will branch off to Ninjutsu." He then set off towards the forest and Sasuke proceeded after him.

"Well I guess it's just you and me now" Kakashi said to Naruto whose face still wore a pout.

"I guess so" Naruto said. "But before we even start, I don't think it will be possible for you to teach me Taijutsu" Naruto said grudgingly.

"Oh and why is that?" Kakashi asked.

"The high speed Taijutsu style I use is too closely connected to my bloodline limit"

"That is very true but consider that with my Sharingan I will be able to see through it" Kakashi said.

"That maybe true but you won't be able to copy it." Naruto said with a smirk.

"Once again you are correct, but there is something that you probably didn't know." Kakashi approached Naruto and crouched down so that they were eye level. "I sparred with your father"

Naruto's eyes widened.

"I saw him at his full power and I have to say that you are nowhere near as close. Maybe with a little help from my training you can actually aspire to reach his level."

A change came to his eyes and for a second Kakashi thought he was looking at a ghost. The look that came to them mirrored the Fourth's perfectly. Kakashi reached out and tussled Naruto's hair. "Come on let's get started on your Ninjutsu, we will look at the Taijutsu a little later"

Kakashi got up and smiled down at the Fourth Hokage's Legacy.

_This life is truly amazing, I never in a thousand years thought I would be in this position yet here I am. Taking on a team that is so hauntingly similar to my old one...I wonder what you would say... Obito?_

"Ok let's get started then" Naruto said eagerly.

"First a little test" Kakashi said. "I want you to go to the Soup shop on the corner Fifth and State and bring me a miso soup"

Naruto face faulted and crashed to the ground. "What the heck does that have to do with Ninjutsu?"

"We'll get to the Ninjutsu just as soon as you bring back that soup" he said in all seriousness. Naruto grumbled under his breath. "Ok here's the money" Kakashi took out some coins and dropped them in Naruto's hand.

He was truly surprised when he saw the coins fall through it and land on the ground.

_The kids better than I thought..._

Kakashi picked up the coins and then saw something that was more shocking. The two pieces of paper Naruto had thrown to the ground had changed. One half was slightly damp and next to it there were was a little bit of dust. The other half had crumpled slightly and its edges were burnt.

That alone would have been enough of a surprise but that was not what caused the veteran Shinobi to pause. The remnants of the paper were two distinct colours.

One was black and the other was white.

_I think I will have to look into the history of that clan...The enigmatic Uzumaki and their last scion..._

The training proceeded very well for Team Seven and they were able to complete many D-Rank missions. They had even set the fastest record for the retrieval of the Feudal Lord's wife's cat. Their talents and teamwork were noted even by the higher echelons of Konoha's government and so on the day that new mission assignments were handed out the Sandaime Hokage held onto one particular C-Rank mission.

It was seen as the perfect test for the Team and it would allow them to see more of the Shinobi world at large.

The mission was a simple escort and protection mission with a low probability of enemy ninja. They were to escort Tazuna, a bridge builder from the isolated Wave Country. They were to then protect him while he completed the building of a much needed bridge for that country.

Kakashi casually walked out of the gates of Konoha and he was glad to see his team ready and waiting.

They had all benefited from the training and they were about to go on their first C Rank mission. The possibility of enemy ninja was nonexistent and so this would serve as more of an exercise then a mission.

"Yo" he called out.

They all turned to him.

Naruto saluted. "Sup, Master Kakashi" he greeted.

Hinata bowed "Master" she said in greeting.

Sasuke also bowed in greeting but did not say anything.

"So the lazy teacher finally shows up" Tazuna said his words coming out slurred no doubt due to the effects of the bottle of alcohol he had. Kakashi turned to study the client who had requested the mission. He was an old man, with a grey shaggy hair and a gray goatee. He wore small round glasses and had in Kakashi's own opinion, a funny looking hat.

"Hello Mr Tazuna" Kakashi said politely. "If you are ready we can go"

Tazuna took a long swig from his bottle. "Well, then let's get going." He turned around and began to walk. "I ain't paying you for standing around"

Kakashi gave his students a serious look. He wanted to convey to them that even though the client was not the most pleasant, they still had a duty to perform as Shinobi of Konoha.

He began to walk to Tazuna's right and Sasuke joined him. Naruto and Hinata walked on Tazuna's left. Even as close as they were to Konoha Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke were on full alert.

'_Everyone__is__trying__their__best__on__this__mission...__I__'__m__glad__to__have__a__team__like__this_"\' Kakashi thought to himself.

They had set out from Konoha at around nine o'clock in the morning and they had been walking at a steady pace for four hours. They were close to the discussed place where they would test out their plan.

Before they had departed Kakashi had set out a plan of what to do once they had reached the border. Hinata's Byakugan range was one hundred meters and while that was very impressive for her age it meant that enemy ninja could still get close without her seeing them early.

So to counter act that Naruto had suggested that he create clones to range out and scout. They would use their superior speed and a new Jutsu Naruto had created to form the perfect perimeter scouts.

That was one thing that truly impressed Kakashi. Naruto was utilizing his shadow clones to the maximum effect and he was able to perform over four hours of training in a few days. This had allowed him to close the Ninjutsu gap between him and the others and for him to actually exceed them. Naruto's own naturally, unnatural thinking had even allowed him to start experimenting with his own Jutsu creation.

Naruto had somehow found a way to make himself invisible. He utilized his wind element which had gained an incredible mastery of, to literally bend the light around him and cause him to become invisible to the naked eye.

Another Jutsu Naruto was experimenting with was flight. He was in the early stages of what he called his **Bukujutsu**. The Lighter than Air Technique.

Kakashi was brought from his musings when Naruto tugged on his sleeve.

"Is it time yet?" Naruto said with an eager smile.

Kakashi turned to the young Genin and nodded. "Go for it" he said.

Naruto did not waste time. He brought his hands together in his signature seal.

"**Mass****Shadow****Clone****Jutsu**" he said.

A thousand bursts of smoke appeared around them and the whole area was filled with Naruto clones. "Alright guys, do your thing" Naruto shouted.

"YES SIR!" they all said.

Tazuna covered his ears at the loud noise. "What the hell is that? Super stereo" he said.

The Naruto's turned away and raced into the surrounding forest.

They walked for another couple hours with Naruto periodically reporting that nothing unusual was happening around them. It was interesting to see how Naruto was getting more resilient to the mental fatigue that came with using the Shadow clones in that manner.

Naruto signalled to Kakashi that he had found something using Konoha's own sign language code.

Naruto casually moved over to him and whispered "Master Kakashi" Naruto said. "There are two enemy Ninja currently setting up an ambush roughly two kilometres from here"

"Good work Naruto. Were there any defining characteristics?" Kakashi asked.

"They are both wearing metal gauntlets. One has it on his right arm and the other has it placed on his left shoulder."

"Were they alerted to your presence?"

"No, the Shadow Clone was able to come upon them while they were preparing the ambush and I think they were not expecting it."

Sasuke was also listening in on their conversation and Kakashi glanced over to Hinata who had her Byakugan activated and she also signalled that she knew what Naruto was reporting.

After finishing his report Naruto moved back to Hinata.

Kakashi signalled to them. _Stay__on__your__guard.__Prepare__for__battle.__Objective:__Capture_.

They walked for another twenty minutes and Naruto sent a signal. _This__is__the__place_.

They all noted the small puddle in the middle of the road and he smiled at how obvious their trap was. It had clearly not rained the whole days so there was no way that a puddle like that could have formed naturally.

As soon as they passed it, the enemy attacked. Kakashi noted two ninja's and they attacked together flawlessly.

They circled him twice very quickly, making sure to keep him between their chains. Once they had finished they pressed a button on their gauntlets and the kunai chain that had been slick, suddenly tightened around him.

Kakashi lazily performed a substitution Jutsu and simultaneously cast the clone Jutsu to make it look it was still him.

He appeared in the cover of the thick foliage on the side of the road and began to observe the coming events.

"One down" the ninja with the gauntlet on his right arm said.

They rushed off without a second look at his supposed dead body. As soon as the ambush had been sprung, Sasuke had gone into a defensive position in front of Tazuna.

Naruto and Hinata faced the enemy. Naruto had already taken out a kunai and he threw it with pinpoint accuracy towards the chain. The kunai split it, in two pieces catching the two ninja by surprise.

Naruto smirked and then raced off to engage the Ninja with the gauntlet on his right arm. Hinata also went in for her attack. Naruto's incredible speed caught the ninja by surprise and he was able to break into his personal space. Naruto crouched low and then jumped up delivering a powerful dragon punch uppercut. The Ninja flew into the air, with a trail of blood following him.

Hinata was not as fast as Naruto but her Byakugan allowed her to see her enemies attack and easily counter it. She easily dodged the Ninja's desperate attack until she was in close range. Hinata caught the right punch he had aimed as counter attack and from the way it suddenly became slack Kakashi surmised that she had simultaneously delivered a Jyuken strike. She then lashed out with her free hand and landed a direct blow on his chest and then immediately jumped back.

The ninja staggered for a moment and then regained his footing. He shook his head to clear it and then he took a step forward towards Hinata. He stopped suddenly and his eye's clouded over. He tottered on his feet for a moment and then he fell back unconscious.

Kakashi came out of his hiding place and clapped. "Well done to all of you" he said.

Kakashi moved to the Ninja Naruto had taken down and picked him up and placed him on his right shoulder. He also then went to the one Hinata had defeated and grabbed him by his collar. He dragged and carried the ninja to a nearby tree and placed them next to it. He then took out some rope and tied them securely against the tree.

His squad of Genin approached him and waited for him to continue.

Kakashi took out his Bingo Book and went through it. The two Ninja in front of him had Hidden Mist forehead protectors with lines running across the Village symbol and that marked them as missing Nin.

Kakashi searched through it until he found the correct entries.

"These two are listed in the Bingo Book as the Demon Brother's. They are mercenaries who have deserted their Village." He said to his team.

"Well judging by the way your team took them down, they couldn't be much" Tazuna said.

Kakashi turned to him and regarded him slowly. He was analyzing Tazuna's body language, tone of voice and facial expression. While his words seemed confident everything else screamed fear.

"Mr Tazuna, these two Ninja are former Chunin of the Hidden Mist. Considering that this is our first mission outside of Konoha I cannot imagine any reason for them to attack us. Therefore I believe that their target was you" Kakashi said while levelling his gaze with he old man.

The old man could not meet his eyes and he looked away. "I don't know what you're talking about" he said with a stubborn hint in his voice.

Kakashi turned away from him and approached one of the brothers. While he was not a skilled interrogation expert like Morino Ibiki, he still had a few tricks up his sleeve.

Kakashi crouched down and shook one of them awake, the instant he opened his eyes Kakashi revealed his Sharingan and trapped him using the Sharingan's hypnotic capabilities.

His relatively low level compared to him meant that extracting information would be easy.

"Who was your target?" he asked.

"Tazuna the Bridge Builder" the Ninja said.

Kakashi planted the suggestion of sleepiness in his captive and soon he nodded off.

He got up and turned towards the bridge builder. "This mission was undertaken with the understanding that we would be providing protection from bandits and robbers. Enemy ninja of this level were not expected. Just by seeing these two, the level of this mission can be classified as a B mission." Kakashi stated. "We have to return to Konoha and report this to the Hokage and once the necessary payments are made we will resume"

"You can't be serious. We can't afford the rates of a B Rank mission!" Tazuna shouted.

"Too bad" Kakashi said in all seriousness. This man had just endangered his team through misinformation and he was not going to stand for it.

"But you have to understand, our country needs this bridge and there is a certain man, who does not want it. We have suffered a lot and are very poor, but right now the way forward seems so close." Tazuna said.

The old man was truly being sincere but Kakashi would not be moved.

"Wait Master Kakashi" Naruto said. "This mission is still active. We can't go back now"

"Yes we can Naruto. I don't want you guys to be in unnecessary danger" Kakashi said.

"Unfortunately that is the Shinobi way" Hinata said.

"If we go back right now, it will be like admitting failure" Naruto added. "As Shinobi of Konoha we undertook this mission and I believe we should see it through to the end"

Kakashi regarded his team and he could see that they shared Naruto's sentiments.

There was something he had not informed them of, when he read the entry of the Demon brothers. They were close associates of the Demon of the Bloody Mist, Momochi Zabuza

"I can see that you guys want to continue, so I won't argue with that" He took out the small beacon that would alert the Konoha ANBU and bring them to apprehend the tied up Ninja. He squeezed it to activate it and placed it next to the two unconscious Ninja. "We can continue the mission, but before we go any further, I will tell you this."

Kakashi turned to his students and his face was stony. "Don't let your guard down, from here on out, this is an A-Rank mission. I trust you understand what that means"

All three nodded their understanding.

AN: Shout if you want chapter 3 up. I accidentally proofed it thinking it was chapter 2 so it's ready for upload but I don't really wanna overload.


	4. Chp 3: Demon in the Mist

Naruto Clans of the Leaf

Chapter 3

Demon in the Mist

They had been travelling for a few more hours when Naruto suddenly sensed a disturbance in the bushes next to them. He instantly threw a kunai in the direction of the disturbance and he was pleasantly surprised to see a white rabbit come bounding out of the spot in which the Kunai had gone.

Kakashi noted that they were next to a lake and his sixth sense kicked in.

The entire team tensed as they realized that it would not be natural for a white rabbit to appear.

"Everybody GET DOWN!" Hinata yelled even as she grabbed Tazuna and pulled him down with her.

Kakashi immediately hit the dirt and he heard the sound of the others doing the same.

Immediately after he went down he heard the sound of a large object flying through the air and he saw its shadow pass over him. He looked up to see a Giant sword embed itself into a nearby tree and then a Ninja appeared on it. His back was to them and his entire body stance screamed arrogance.

He was wearing grey cargo pants and standard ninja sandals. He had grey arm cuffs on his upper arms and he had a cloth around his neck. He wore a black vest and had a sash going across his back and Kakashi assumed that it was to holster the giant sword.

Kakashi recognized the Ninja standing on that sword. He had heard tales of him mentioned in hushed whispers among the ANBU and his name was recorded in the Bingo Book of Konoha as an Missing A Class Nin.

"_Momochi__Zabuza,__the__Demon__of__the__Hidden__Mist__"_ he thought to himself. "_This__is__the__worst__possible__outcome__that__could__have__happened.__An__A-Class__Missing-Nin..._"

The man turned then and Kakashi got the chance to look into his eyes. They were grey pools of unknown depth, the mark of a true killer. Bandages adorned the lower half of his face adding to the threat of his presence.

"I was surprised when the Demon Brothers did not report back and now I realize why" he said. His voice was deep and menacing and Kakashi was afraid that his team would be affected.

"Hey you stupid idiot, what the hell is your problem?" Naruto shouted. "Don't you know you'll hurt someone throwing that big sword around like that?" he said.

"I think that is the point Naruto" Sasuke said dryly.

"Either way this guy is asking for trouble." Naruto said boldly. "He has no idea who he is dealing with"

"Naruto, don't let your mouth run off" Kakashi reprimanded. "This is a Jonin level Ninja"

"I know" Naruto said simply.

Kakashi looked at him and he was surprised to see that Naruto was utterly serious.

"Well it seems you recognize who I am" Zabuza said. "In that case, please step aside you are not my targets so I will let you go. The old man though is and I will now take his life" Zabuza said confidently.

"We have been tasked by our Village to protect this man with our lives." Kakashi said. "So we are enemies Zabuza Momochi" Kakashi withdrew a kunai from his Ninja utility pouch and nodded to his team. They immediately took position in front of Tazuna.

"I truly am honoured that you recognize me, and I in turn must admit that I recognize you too, Kakashi of the Sharingan" Zabuza said. He reached down and touched the handle of his sword. "Shall we begin" he said sinisterly.

Kakashi did not hesitate as he reached up to his headband and revealed his Sharingan.

"I'm now more than honoured" Zabuza mocked. "To see the Sharingan without having to lift a finger..." he let his sentence fall away without finishing it.

Kakashi saw him perform a perfect Shun Shin no Jutsu and he appeared in front of them.

He slowly began to walk towards them swinging his giant sword as if stretching his muscles.

"Those brats are about to lose their lives and I hope you understand that it will be because of you" Zabuza easily lifted the large blade and cradled it on his shoulder. He instantly disappeared but Kakashi easily tracked him. He also moved and appeared just behind his team. He took his kunai and blocked the downward chop of Zabuza's blade.

Kakashi had braced himself with his chakra and took most of the enormous impact.

Zabuza was arrogantly ignoring the three genin between them and Kakashi smiled at that.

Hinata saw an opening and instantly struck with a Jyuken strike to the heart. Zabuza looked down in shock and then his body became insubstantial for a moment and Kakashi recognized that it was a Water Clone.

Kakashi turned around while simultaneously grabbing Tazuna and positioning him inbetween him and his team. He was just in time as Zabuza appeared swinging his sword in a horizontal slash meant to cut them all in one blow. Kakashi dived forward and intercepted the attack with his body. He slowed it down enough for his team to pull Tazuna out of the way. The blade itself tore through his body cutting him in half. His top half and bottom half fell in different directions but even as they fell they changed in composition and became water.

Kakashi absorbed the information of his Water Clone and appeared out of the ground behind Zabuza. He pressed his kunai to the small of Zabuza's back.

"You made a mistake in underestimating me and my team. You lose" Kakashi pronounced and he pushed his kunai into Zabuza's back aiming for his spinal cord.

Once again the body became insubstantial and turned into water.

"Shit!" Kakashi exclaimed even as he performed a series of back flips to create distance between him and the Water Clone, not wanting Zabuza to attack him from behind.

Kakashi noted his position and how close it was to the lake and he realized his mistake. "Double shit!" he said.

Zabuza appeared in front of him. He was crouched low and he did not have his sword on him. Kakashi crossed his arms in front of his upper body as Zabuza delivered a powerful kick to the chest. This caused Kakashi to fly towards the middle of the lake.

Water was the territory of Ninja's from the Hidden Mist.

Kakashi righted himself in the air

"_I have to get of f the water as soon as possible"_

He landed onto the water's surface and utilized the Art of Water Walking to stay on top of the large body of water.

"Gotcha!" came the voice of Zabuza.

Kakashi tried to move but his feet were stuck to the water.

"**Water****Prison****Jutsu**" came Zabuza's voice.

Kakashi saw the water at his feet rise up in a perfect globe and envelop him.

"_A__rookie__mistake__has__just__cost__me__the__battle_" Kakashi thought. He looked up and saw that Zabuza had his hand within the globe of water and he quickly deduced that Zabuza had to be in contact with it to keep the Jutsu active.

"Naruto! Hinata! Sasuke!" he shouted. "Take Tazuna and run, he won't be able to come after you!"

"Prisoners should know their place" Zabuza said. He formed a hand seal. "**Hidden** **Mist** **Water****Clone****Jutsu**' he said and the water in front of him began to rise and then it took on the form of a human body and finally the detail was fleshed out and an exact copy of Zabuza appeared. "Kill them all" Zabuza said simply.

The clone raced towards his team at an incredible speed, gracefully drawing the large sword as it moved closer.

Kakashi saw Naruto and Sasuke take positions in front of Hinata and Tazuna. Sasuke reached into his backpack and took out a Giant Windmill Shuriken. Naruto took out his special kunai and got into a battle stance. As the clone approached them Hinata threw a smoke bomb obscuring the view of the group.

"Interesting brats you have Kakashi, but I'm afraid they're just delaying the inevitable."

Suddenly the Giant shuriken came flying out of the smoke towards them.

"Hmph" Zabuza watched the giant shuriken flying towards him and he casually he moved his head to the side to duck it. Thanks to his Sharingan Kakashi had seen the other Shuriken in the Shadow of the first.

"_Shadow__Shuriken__Jutsu,__simple__and__effective__but__it__won__'__t__work__against__a__ninja__like__Zabuza__"_

Zabuza saw it at the last possible moment and he quickly jumped and it went past his feet. Suddenly the blades on the second shuriken detached and it was then that Kakashi saw the Ninja wire attached to each blade. They flew towards Zabuza who reached for his sword, unlatched it and swung it around to block the attack.

He was suitably distracted and he did not see the special kunai flying towards. It purposely passed his face nicking him a little bit and then it happened.

There was a flash of light, and Naruto appeared in front of Zabuza. He aimed a flying kick at the missing nin nailing him solidly and sending him flying back.

Kakashi felt the Jutsu dispel and saw Naruto land on the water's surface. By now the smoke screen had cleared and Kakashi saw that Hinata had disabled the Water Clone without dispelling it.

Once their strategy had resolved she aimed a blow to the clones head dispelling it immediately.

Zabuza stood up on the water's surface rubbing at his jaw. Kakashi saw some blood seeping out of the bandages. "Nice Naruto" he complimented. "You guys have done your job I think it's time I did mine"

Naruto disappeared and Kakashi understood that he was going to retrieve his kunai.

"It seems you have acquired strong weapons Kakashi Hatake." Zabuza said after he had recovered. "A true blooded Uchiha, a Hyuga and something else. I'm almost jealous"

"Unfortunately for you, you won't live long enough to fully become jealous" Kakashi said angrily. He was not angry at Zabuza; rather he was angry at himself for endangering his team.

Kakashi took out a scroll and performed the flying Ninja tool Jutsu to release it from its sealed state.

The white bladed Hatake Sword was released. Kakashi reverently took the blade out of its sheath and he got into a Kenjutsu stance.

After a split second, he rushed forward and engaged Zabuza in sword combat. He was channelling his chakra into the weapon and strikes of white chakra followed the slashes of his blade. Zabuza carried one of the Swords of the Mist and that allowed his blade to withstand the White Light Chakra Sabre of his Clan. His sabres special properties though allowed it to be used evenly against the larger and stronger weapon.

After exchanging many strikes they broke apart. Kakashi's Sharingan blazed to life as it tracked Zabuza's hand seals. During the sword combat Kakashi had laid the foundation of the Sharingan's hypnotizing Jutsu and now Zabuza was trapped without even knowing it.

Kakashi traced the hand seals and at the same time as Zabuza he called out the Jutsu's name.

"**Water****Release:****Water****Dragon****Missile****Jutsu**"

"**Water****Release:****Water****Dragon****Missile****Jutsu**"

A huge burst of water rose from his feet towards his opponent and Kakashi saw a similar burst approaching him. The front of the water was in the shape of a Dragon with its maw open and Kakashi knew that his own Dragon was rushing to meet Zabuza's.

The two powerful Jutsu's clashed causing water to be sprayed all around them. Due to the hypnotic suggestion of the Sharingan Kakashi forced Zabuza to perform another Jutsu. Zabuza performed most of the hand seals required but Kakashi caused him to stop at the last moment and he completed the Jutsu.

"**Water****Release:****Grand****Waterfall****Jutsu**" he called out and a huge wave formed and raced towards Zabuza it struck with tremendous force and carried Zabuza towards the land. The huge wave slammed into the trees with its dangerous cargo and when the wave finally died down Zabuza was lying sprawled at the base of a large oak tree.

He was breathing hard after performing such high level Jutsu's along with using the high energy hypnosis of the Sharingan. Kakashi slowly approached the nearly unconscious Zabuza and prepared to end his life.

Zabuza tried to get up but he was too winded. He staggered forward and tried to also lift up his sword to no avail.

"_Even__through__all__that__he__was__able__to__keep__a__hand__on__his__sword.__I__am__truly__impressed_"

"Master Kakashi watch out" Hinata screamed. Kakashi instinctively jumped back as a spear of ice imbedded itself in the spot he had just occupied.

"If you come near my master, I will kill you" the voice came from the tree above Zabuza.

Kakashi looked up to see a Ninja wearing a Hunter Nin mask.

He formed rapid Hand Seals and Kakashi saw that they were original seals. That indicated a bloodline limit, something not even the Sharingan could copy.

The air around the Ninja seemed to pulsate with his chakra and then it froze instantly forming into tiny needles of ice.

Kakashi formed Hand Seals rapidly. "**Earth****Release:****Earth****Style****Wall**" He shouted in the nick of time as the projectiles came flying towards him.

Even with the wall in the way some projectiles still made it through but he was able to dodge them easily due to their slowed speed. The attack suddenly died down. "Hinata" he called out.

"They've already gone. He was able to use an advanced Shun Shin Jutsu, to take them out of my range" she said.

"You know what they say Kakashi whatever doesn't kill you, better run away" Sasuke mocked. "You won't be able to use the same Jutsu's on him twice"

Kakashi turned to his team. "Well done for your quick thinking, you three have definitely showed your worth as assets of Konoha." Naruto was twirling his special kunai, Sasuke had a smirk on his face his face and Hinata was calmly standing next to Tazuna.

"I think you let your guard down Master Kakashi and after you took the time to spookily warn us" Naruto said with a grin.

"You brat's, I'm trying to be serious and you're making fun of me" he said in exasperation.

"Forgive them Master Kakashi, they joke to hide their worry. The Hunter Nin had a powerful bloodline limit and he was pissed. On top of that Zabuza was able to see a lot of our moves so this will make things more difficult" Hinata said.

"I guess we will just have to make sure, we learn a few more Jutsu's before his next attack" Kakashi assured with an eye smile.

A plan was forming in his mind, a plan to take the Genin entrusted to him and make them stronger.

He would teach Naruto the Rasengan because that was his Birth Right. He would teach Sasuke the Chidori because he was similar to him and he would find help for Hinata in the Medical Arts and he would even train himself some more.

All in all things were about to get serious. Their lives were on the line and he would do everything in his power to ensure that they came away from this mission safely.

They reached Tazuna's house later in the afternoon.

"Welcome to my humble abode" the old man said. Kakashi noticed a lady waiting at the threshold of the home and a small boy at her knees. The boy was eyeing them warily and Kakashi smiled to reassure him. Instead the boys brown eyes hardened and he returned a glare. Kakashi looked at him closer noting his green hat and green overalls. From beneath the cap he could see dark brown hair that was smoother then what he had seen in a long time.

Konoha somehow had many spiky haired people, himself definitely included.

"This is my daughter Tsunami and my grandson Inari." Tazuna introduced.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both" Kakashi said. "Allow me to introduce my team. To my left is Uchiha Sasuke, followed by Hinata Hyuga and finally Uzumaki Naruto"

"Hello" Hinata said with a bow.

"Hi" Naruto said with a grin

"Hmph" Sasuke inclined his head.

Tazuna's daughter bowed in greeting. "Hello to you all and thank you for protecting my father".

"We don't need you here causing trouble" Inari blurted out catching them all by surprise.

"Inari! His mother shouted. "Watch your manners around our guests"

The boy moved around her and bolted down the path.

Kakashi and the others all turned around and watched him go. Kakashi suddenly saw Naruto appear in front of the boy and block his path. The boy was clearly shocked by Naruto and Kakashi was too.

Naruto and him exchanged words but by his stance Kakashi could see that the boy was becoming belligerent and difficult.

"You have to understand" Tazuna said. "There was once a man who Inari looked up to more than anything in the world." Kakashi turned to the old man.

"His father?" Kakashi asked.

"No it was his step father. He was a man named Kaiza. He was one of the people to champion the bridge building effort to allow the Wave to become a successful economy once again."

"You speak in the past tense" Hinata said.

Tazuna turned to her. "Yes girly I do, because he's dead." The older man closed his eyes as if remembering some distant pain that still had an effect on him. "He was killed by Gato and his men and placed in the centre of the Village as a message to any dissenters"

Kakashi suddenly felt an intense dislike of this Gato character. The fact that he had hired a Ninja as dangerous as Zabuza meant he was a ruthless individual who cared nothing for human life. Unfortunately a Ninja was meant to be a tool of his Village. He could not act independently but he made a mental note to request an Assassination of a certain business man.

"That day Inari lost all his hope for the future. He became scared and isolated fearing what would happen to us if we ever stepped out of line" Tazuna finished.

Kakashi turned back to Naruto and he was surprised to see a change in Inari's body language. The boy looked to be trembling slightly and to his surprise Kakashi saw Naruto lean forward and punch him on the jaw.

The boy fell down onto his behind and looked upt o Naruto.

"CRYING IS FOR BABY's!" Kakashi heard Naruto scream.

"I'll KILL YOU!" Inari screamed as he jumped up and tackled Naruto.

What followed was a scuffle that left all the Konoha Ninja feeling slightly embarrassed.

Naruto eventually pinned down the smaller boy and he had a huge grin on his face. Naruto started laughing out loud and soon Kakashi heard Inari laughing too.

"Well those two seem to have gotten off to a good start".

The next morning Team 7 woke up bright and early, washed up, got dressed, ate breakfast and assembled in a small forested area behind Tazuna's house.

They were all doing warm up stretches and Kakashi was also going over the final plan for their training schedule. It would be difficult training them while using Kage Bunshin but he had to do it. He could only make one other clone and successfully perform both the Rasengan and the Chidori so that meant Hinata would be at a disadvantage.

Luckily for her he had made a contingency plan and it was about to pay off.

"Ok you three, due to the dangerous nature of this current situation I have decided to accelerate your training. I want to teach Naruto and Sasuke two powerful Jutsu's that will help you both become strong Ninja. I know that your interests lie in Medical Ninjutsu Hinata so I have arranged for a special teacher for you as well."

Kakashi formed to RAM seals and the crossed them in front of himself.

"**Shadow****Clone****Jutsu**" he said out loud and with a puff of smoke an exact clone of him appeared.

Kakashi then took out a scroll and set it on the ground. He performed a set the RAM, MONKEY, BIRD, DOG and the finally the BOAR. He then slammed his hands onto the ground.

"**Reverse** **Summoning****Jutsu**" he said outloud pouring his chakra and activating the Jutsu.

There was a large puff of smoke and then a familiar form silhouette appeared from within it. When the smoke finally cleared away Rin stood in front of him.

"Well you certainly didn't take your time Kakashi" she said softly.

Kakashi studied the woman in front of him. Her brown hair had grown longer but here chocolate brown eyes regarded him with the same familiar warmth.

"Well it was kind of important..." Kakashi said not meeting her eyes directly. She moved forward and planted a small kiss on his cheek.

"Pakkun told me everything, so I understand" she turned around and faced the students. "So you are Team 7" she said. "I am Rin, a friend of Kakashi's and I'll be helping to train Hinata"

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mistress Rin" Hinata said politely.

"Good to meet you too Hinata" she walked over to Hinata. "Shall we go" Rin performed the Body Flicker Jutsu and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Well that takes care of that" his Shadow Clone said. "Come with me Naruto" it also performed the Body flicker.

_This is going to be hard..._

An exhausted Team 7 made their way back into Tazuna's house. Kakashi was worried about their progress but he would not show it. It was a difficult day to say the least and Kakashi was less hopeful about the future.

Naruto and Sasuke had made tremendous progress towards mastering the Rasengan and Chidori but they still had a long way to go. Naruto's training was helped by his Mass Shadow Clone Jutsu and Sasuke was helped by his natural genius but it still wasn't enough. Time was something that could not be rushed.

In this instance neither hard work nor genius would prevail. Time would defeat them all. He just hoped that they would have enough to face Zabuza and his companion.

Kakashi even realized that he had to limit the training to allow them to fully recover. It would all come down to their desire to defeat their opponents.

That and a little bit of luck.

_Five days later_

That's how long it had been since they had defeated Zabuza. Kakashi knew that another strike was imminent so he had postponed the training to ensure that they were rested enough to take on Zabuza and his accomplice.

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	5. Chp 4: Flash

NARUTO CLANS OF THE LEAF

CHAPTER 4

FLASH

He woke up later than usual having needed the extra rest to recuperate. The training had been very hard, all the more so for working late into the night, long after the others had slept. He knew that he was close to mastering the Jutsu his father had created.

The Rasengan. Its incredible properties were already known to him. It was a Jutsu that took Shape Manipulation to the zenith. The fast self contained spinning chakra was a promise of destruction in the right hands.

Now all he had to do was Master it. Working with thousands of clones every night took a lot out of a guy and even with his quick healing and stamina he still needed the rest. He got up and went to take a quick shower. After he was done he put on his orange and blue jumpsuit and went down stairs.

Immediately he sensed that something was wrong. The dishes were not all put away and a small pot was currently burning on the stove. Inari's mother was a strict homemaker and he knew that she would not have left any kind of mess if there wasn't an emergency. Naruto went into the living room and saw the front door wide open.

It was obvious that Inari's mom had been taken. He raced out of the house hoping he wasn't too late to save her.

The first thing he saw as he came out of the house was Inari lying on the ground. He wasn't sure if Inari was unconscious or worse, and a fear like he had never felt came to him.

"Inari" he said desperately while shaking him. "Wake up". Naruto held the younger child's upper body in his arms cradling him.

The small boy groaned and started to come around. Naruto let out a breath he hadn't even known he was holding.

"MOM!" screamed the boy as soon as he was fully awake.

"No Inari it's me Naruto" he said in a gently voice to calm the boy down.

"Naruto" he said in realization. "They took my mom, they said they're going to make her a hostage" he said quickly. "I tried to stop them..."

"it's ok Inari, everything is gonna be alright" Naruto helped the boy sit up and checked him for possible injuries. After confirming that there were none, Naruto got to his feet.

He stepped past Inari and looked towards the forest and then closed his eyes and accessed the power of the Namikaze Bloodline.

He immediately sensed the seal he had placed on Inari's mother and he identified the two men holding her captive. They had knocked her out and that sent his blood boiling.

His bloodline limit allowed him to bend the time and space around him and to enter a different dimension. Within it time and distance were irrelevant, all he needed to do was fixate on the seal. Naruto willed himself to appear in that place as soon as he judged that the mercenaries guard was down he and appeared behind them. They didn't even take note of his presence as he quietly moved in to attack.

Naruto used his superior speed and kicked the legs from under the bandit holding Inari's mom. The bandit lost his footing and started to fall, letting go of Inari's mom. Naruto moved quickly caught Inari's mom, her bridal style. As soon as he landed he performed the Shunshin no Jutsu to put distance between himself and the bandits. He placed her gently on the ground and turned to the two men.

"You've already lost, you just don't know it yet" he said calmly as he stood up and sent them a glare. "You should be thankful though that it was me who found you guys." A grin came to his face and he put his hands behind his head in casual stance.

"Why you little brat!" one of them screamed. He took a step forward and drew his katana. Naruto acted and moved faster than his two enemies could track. In a flash he was in-between them. They only became aware of him a few seconds later and by then he was ready. He brought his hands together in his signature seal.

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu**" he said softly. Two clones appeared flying upwards aiming two powerful dragon punches at his enemies. They both connected and the loud crack of their jaws breaking filled the forest.

The men sailed in two identical yet opposite arcs and they finally came crashing down to the ground unconscious.

The clones went to the two men and each placed a hand on one while Naruto took Inari's mother and with that they all disappeared from the clearing.

They all reappeared at the front of Inari's house. Naruto expected the boy to still be scared but he was surprised to see him wearing a pot for a head guard and holding a pitch fork.

"Mom" he said in relief. The small boy ran towards Naruto to check on his mother.

"She's all right, just passed out." He said and he could clearly see the comfort the boy took in those words. His shadow clones placed the unconscious mercenaries on the ground and one of went in search of rope to tie the two men.

"I'm gonna put your mom in the house then head for the bridge" he said to Inari who was walking in step with him.

"Do you think they're finally attacking?" Inari asked in fear as they walked into the house.

Naruto placed Inari's mom gently on a sleeping mat and turned to the boy.

Naruto nodded in confirmation, but a smile came to his face. "We've been training hard for this day and after stopping those clowns, I'm sure we have nothing to worry about."

"I can already tell that you're not afraid anymore. Take that courage Inari and use it, to help your Village" Naruto said.

Inari moved forward and Naruto stretched out his arm and made his hand into a fist. Inari repeated the gesture and tapped his fist against Naruto's.

Naruto smiled at the younger boy and then he ran out of the house towards the bridge. He was a blur through the forest moving faster than even most of the animals in there could see or sense.

Naruto landed on a branch that overlooked the bridge and surveyed the situation. There was a thick mist rolling towards the bridge but it was not covered yet.

Naruto saw that Hinata had once again taken a guarding position around Tazuna. Kakashi was facing off against Zabuza and Sasuke was surrounded by a strange Jutsu.

Naruto jumped onto the bridge and moved towards Hinata.

"What's going on with Sasuke, do you think he needs a hand?" he asked.

"The enemy has a Bloodline Limit so Sasuke cannot really counter the users hand signs. So far he is doing ok thanks to his Sharingan."

Naruto nodded and then turned to the other major battle.

He regarded Kakashi and Zabuza and noted how neither of them had turned to him. They were highly skilled ninja so they did not even need to look in his direction to know that he was there.

"So we're just going to sit back and let the two Sharingan wielders handle things right?" he asked.

"Not really Naruto, we're a team so we have to have each other's backs. You will have the fastest response time so just prepare yourself to act should I give the signal."

"Geez Hinata, you're such a slave driver" Naruto said teasingly. The Hyuga heir regarded him levelly. Naruto gulped and kept quiet.

By now the mist was slowly approaching the bridge and he was in no doubt that it was Zabuza's jutsu again. The visibility for him might be low but the same couldn't be said for Hinata. There was nothing her eyes could not pierce.

_This is what it feels like to fight a superior enemy_.

_All this time, I wonder if all the other students felt this feeling whenever they had to face me._

He dodged another hail of Senbon flipping backwards and then springing off his hands. Due to the enemies bloodline limit he could not get a fix on his location. It was a stalemate of sorts.

The Sharingan allowed him to see attacks and dodge them correctly but the enemy's bloodline allowed him to appear from anywhere.

_At this rate he'll get me...I'll just have to try and destroy these mirrors and escape._

Sasuke began to perform hand seals even as his enemy started a furious attack. His Sharingan was strong enough to see the attacks a second before they were launched and that gave him enough time to manoeuvre away from them.

A barrage was thrown directly overhead and Sasuke quickly rolled to his right without breaking the chain of hand seals. He had already moulded his chakra to a high level having realized that it would take incredible power to destroy the mirrors.

Sasuke finished with the sign of the Tiger and he placed his right hand in front of his mouth, while forming an O shape with his thumb and index finger.

"**Fire Release: Phoenix Blast Jutsu"** he called out.

He inhaled deeply and then blew powerfully through the O shape created by his fingers. The Jutsu activated and powerful fireball projectiles shot forth from his mouth. He had poured a lot of chakra into the Jutsu and the fireballs flew out rapidly and when they made contact with the mirrors there was a huge explosion.

Once the Jutsu had finished he was breathing heavily. Using the Jutsu at that level had taken a lot out of him and he hoped that it was enough to break the Jutsu.

He looked around surveying the damage he had caused only to see that nothing had happened to the mirrors themselves.

"Damn it" he cursed.

"Please Sasuke-san" came the voice of his opponent. "You cannot hope to defeat my Jutsu. Give up now and I will give you a painless death."

"Unfortunately for you I can't give up." He said with a smirk. "My friends would never let me hear the end of it. Especially after I won the Rock-Paper-Scissors on who would get to fight you"

He was answered by another volley of Senbon needles. He easily dodged the fast attacks cartwheeling and flipping out of the way of each attack.

He stopped after noticing that the ninja had stopped his attack. This was probably the worst possible matchup for him because in order to catch his enemy he would need speed on the level of Naruto or the All-seeing Byakugan.

But he was not one to dwell on what he did not have. Instead he would focus on what he did have.

He started to remember the brief but intense training under Kakashi. The elder ninja had shown Sasuke incredible speed and it had taken him a while to copy how the muscles, flowed and flexed at such speeds. Thanks to Kakashi's normal chakra he was able to see it clearly, unlike when he looked at Naruto.

Bloodlines were truly something the Sharingan could not see. To him the chakra associated with Bloodline limit users always appeared as a blinding colour he could not focus on too much. Naruto's burned like a vast, unquenchable yellow sun, while Hinata's was a fierce, endlessly white moon.

His own was as dark as the void of space, but it was dotted with small but strong brightly burning stars.

His opponent's chakra was a liquid white-silver as the pure snows and he could see each mirror floating in the air as a block of white chakra. The fact that whenever he appeared within a mirror he did not disrupt its surface or chakra made it impossible to predict.

Right now Hinata was probably watching this battle noting how badly it was going for him and pretty soon she would want to relieve him.

He had to finish it before them, no matter what. Otherwise he wouldn't be able to consider himself Naruto's rival.

If Naruto were in this situation he would undoubtedly use his incredible speed along with the Shadow Clone Jutsu to attack all of the mirrors at once.

'_That's It!'_

"Have you had enough contemplation about the dire straits you find yourself in? The look in your eyes has suddenly changed..." the ninja asked.

He had had enough, it was time to end this. "Before I end this" he said "I want to learn your name?" he asked.

"Oh, before you end this?" the ninja repeated rhetorically. "From where I'm standing it doesn't seem like you will be capable of anything, except dodging my attacks, let alone defeating me."

"The out-come of this battle has been decided thanks to these eyes" he said.

"Very well then but it is rude to ask someone's name before giving your own" the ninja said.

"Sasuke Uchiha" he said confidently. "A member of the Uchiha Clan"

"Haku" the ninja said. "Whatever ties I had to my clan are thankfully long since severed"

Sasuke acknowledged the name with a nod and then he went through a set of hand seals.

He channelled his chakra and prepared to unleash an incomplete but still rather devastating form of that Jutsu.

Haku seemed to recognize the danger as he launched a furious attack but thanks to his Sharingan Sasuke was able to see through all of it. He jumped to the side twisting through the air while not breaking his hand seal sequence.

Even as he landed he skipped away to avoid another barrage. Lightning began to surround his form and a sound similar to birds chirping was heard.

"**Ice rain" **came Haku's voice and Sasuke looked up to see that multiple versions of the Ninja had appeared in the mirrors above him.

He would have been in serious trouble had this Jutsu been launched earlier he conceded but now it was too late.

Even as the Ice needles rained down they dissipated in the electrical aura he was giving off.

"**Chidori Burst!**" he screamed out as he unleashed the Lightning Jutsu through his body. The water element in the ice acted as a conductor and the lightning arced out in fierce bolts crashing into the mirrors.

A sound similar to shattering glass greeted his ears as he continued to pour his power through the Jutsu.

"AhHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Haku's scream of pain echoed as he could no longer escape the lightning barrage.

He then looked up to see that the white chakra no longer surrounded him in square meter blocks. It had all disappeared. He cut of the flow of chakra and stopped the Jutsu.

The drain of using so much chakra was incredible and he immediately fell down to one knee once he was finished.

He looked over to Haku and saw him lying motionlessly on the floor.

"I told you it was over" he said. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath and when his eyes opened his Sharingan was deactived.

He was shocked to see that Haku was no longer in the same position. He summoned what little reserves he had left to try and defend but he knew that it was a token effort.

He heard steps behind him and turned around only to be met by a fist.

The blow sent him spinning away and he was only stopped by the rail of the bridge.

"Damn it" he cursed again.

Suddenly the insanely loud chirping of birds filled his ears.

This battle was over. He had humoured Zabuza for long enough and it was time to end it.

Zabuza's love for his sword would be his undoing as he could easily trace the scent of his blood on the blade.

He unclipped one of the pockets on his Jounin vest and removed a small scroll. He unfurled the scroll and cut his thumb on the customized point on his vest. He then smeared blood across the scroll and prepared to invoke the combination Jutsu with his summoned partners.

"**Earth Release: Summoning Tracking Fang**" he called out as he slammed his hands onto the ground.

He released a surge of chakra and activated his Jutsu. He felt his Ninja dogs appear in bridge beneath them and they immediately began moving. They unearthed the ground slightly showing their rapid movement and direction.

Zabua za was unaware of the danger that came racing to him until it was too late. Kakashi's Nin dogs burst from the ground and each of them latched on to different parts of Zabuza's body. They immobilized him while dealing maximum damage.

"Shit" Zabuza cursed.

"I'm going to show you something" Kakashi said as he began walking closer to Zabuza. "An original technique I developed." He began to perform hand seals. He finished the hand seals. "**Raikiri!**" A circle of blue lighting surrounded him on the ground and he then thrust his right hand forward with the palm up. He grabbed his right wrist and channelled his chakra.

Arcs of lightning rose up from the circle and gathered into his right hand. An incredible chirping sound filled the air and then it began to transform into the crackling sound of an electrical discharge.

"Your ambition, overstepped your abilities" Kakashi said. "Goodbye"

He raced forward and thrust his right arm forward. The Jutsu utilized form manipulation and nature manipulation to create an incredible piercing moving that was un-defendable.

Zabuza was resigned to his death and he did not flinch as he saw Kakashi racing towards him. Just then Haku appeared and in his arms was the boy he had been battling. It was too late to stop and it seemed that a tragedy was about to happen.

At the last moment Kakashi felt something collide with his outthrust arm knocking him off balance and to the side. It had been so fast that his Sharingan did not even see who it was. He deactivated his Jutsu and finally saw who had stopped him.

It was Naruto.

Naruto had thrown himself against the Raikiri and a part of his clothes was cut and torn. He was bleeding heavily from the wound as evinced by the dark pool of blood that died his orange jumpsuit crimson.

"I cut that one a little close" Naruto said with a bloody grin.

Kakashi was horrified at what had happened. Not only had he come close to killing Sasuke he had also seriously injured Naruto.

"Naruto..." he said and his voice came out choked. "I'm..."

"It's ok, Master Kakashi, I'm the hero of this story" a spurt of blood came out of his mouth and it splattered upon Kakashi. "I think, I'm going to sleep now" Naruto's eyes began to close and it seemed like he was passing out. "Please, don't hurt them too much" Naruto said softly and then he pitched forward, with his head down.

Kakashi moved to catch him but suddenly Naruto regained his footing and looked up. Kakashi was truly shocked. Naruto's eyes had changed from the vibrant blue to a dark crimson. His pupils had become slits, his canine's had grown longer and the whisker marks on his face had become deeper and more pronounced.

Kakashi then saw red chakra begin to surround Naruto. The wound he had sustained began to sizzle and steam and the broken flesh began to knit back together at an incredible rate.

The now transformed Naruto literally disappeared from Kakashi's eyes using pure speed. The next thing he heard was the sound of a hard impact. He turned to see Haku arcing through the sky and then crash on the ground. Zabuza had been freed from the Nin dogs and he moved to attack Naruto.

The sword came slicing down but it stopped a few inches away from Naruto's head. Zabuza seemed to be straining against a terrible counter force and he was losing badly.

Naruto loosed a terrible growl followed by a burst of chakra that sent Zabuza flying away.

He began to approach Haku who had not stood up since he had received the powerful punch from Naruto.

The intensity of the chakra around Naruto seemed to burn any debris around him and his footsteps left marks in the bridge. A leaf flew towards him and Kakashi saw it disintegrate without even landing on his person.

From the way he moved it was clear that he was going to finish off Haku. Kakashi moved to stop him. But then before he could reach, Hinata appeared in front of him. Naruto paused and regarded her for a moment. He took another step forward, but it was less sure than before and the intensity of it was less.

He stopped and Kakashi heard his voice although he could not make out the words.

Hinata nodded and then as suddenly as it had come the powerful chakra infusing Naruto disappeared. He collapsed but Hinata was there to catch him.

Sasuke sat up and he immediately went into a defensive position, despite his throbbing head. The last thing he remembered was being knocked out by Haku.

He looked around to gauge the situation and noted Kakashi standing with Hinata, who had Naruto in her arms and was stroking his hair gently. Haku was lying on the ground next to them unconscious and Zabuza was also unconscious a bit of a distance away. His body looked to be heavily injured and there was blood still flowing from his wounds.

The sound of many footsteps alerted his attention. He turned towards it and saw a group of mercenaries approaching with a small fat man leading them. The expensive suit he wore signalled that this was none other than Gato, the ruthless business man.

Sasuke felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Kakashi.

"Well it seems that we still have some trouble on our hands" the Sharingan user said. "I don't have a lot of chakra and I doubt you do too, so I suggest we end this with the least possible effort"

Sasuke understood what that meant and he activated his Sharingan.

Casting a multi group Genjutsu would take a lot of subtle work but it was not impossible.

Sasuke cast a Genjutsu Kakashi had taught him upon most of the mercenaries in the front awakening their deepest nightmares. The Genjutsu was cast using his Sharingan and thus was made even more effective. The men screamed and clawed at their eyes and turned to try and run away. Their comrades behind them didn't understand what was going and that amplified the fear they had already felt at confronting Shinobi.

Kakashi then attacked that second line of mercenaries using a sound Genjutsu. They all grabbed their ears and started shouting and screaming about an unbearable noise.

Most of the mercenaries were starting to retreat and their leader Gato could not do anything about it. "You cowards!" he screamed at them. "How can you run away when victory is at hand?"

Kakashi then raced forward and grabbed Gato. The short man was lifted off of the ground by his collar. He turned his head to the right and made Gato stare straight into his Sharingan.

Gato began to scream uncontrollably and Kakashi dropped him to the ground and returned to his original position. Gato continued to scream uncontrollably and he even began frothing at the mouth. Sasuke involuntarily shivered at the thought of what Gato could have been shown.

After seeing their benefactor writhing on the ground like a mad man most of the mercenaries began to retreat. A few of the desperate ones remained though. They began advancing and Sasuke prepared himself for a fight.

A sudden chill invaded him. He turned to look back and saw Hinata's chakra begin to focus around her eyes. "This is bad" he mumbled. Naruto was a force of nature that attacked and killed indiscriminately when awoken to anger, Hinata on the other hand was an ethereal otherworldly demoness that eradicated life at will.

He did not want to see that again….

Suddenly an arrow landed in-between them and the mercenaries. He turned around to see who had fired the bolt and saw that it was Inari. What truly surprised him though was the fact that Inari was there with his fellow Villagers.

"You guys get the Hell out of our Country!" Inari screamed.

The crowd joined him in shouting and screaming at the mercenaries.

This seemed to be the last straw for the remaining mercenaries. They threw down their weapons and all ran away.

Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. The fight was truly over now and they would be able to rest and recover.

Thus ended the Battle of the Wave Country Bridge.

A few days later Team 7 was making its way out of the Wave Country. They were crossing the newly completed bridge Great Naruto Bridge, making their way home. The bridge was named in honour of Naruto for inspiring Inari to rally the villagers.

"Do you think Haku and Zabuza will really stay in the Wave?" Naruto asked once again.

"I truly think so" Hinata said.

"I gave him some intelligence we had gathered about the Hidden Mist Village and he seemed to understand that he must bide his time. Deep down he is a Shinobi who was loyal to his Village and I think that will help guide him back towards the right path"

"Either way if he ever gets out of line, we'll put him back in his place. Right Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke did not respond immediately. "I was utterly defeated by Haku" he finally said. "I never understood what it tasted like to face a complete and utter loss until that moment."

They all remained quiet and waited for him to finish.

"Now that I have, I never want to again. Therefore I will train to get stronger. After that it will be easy to put anyone in their place" his trademark smirk returned to his face.

Naruto started laughing out loud. "That's the spirit" he said. "Who knows maybe one day you'll be strong enough to give me a good match"

"What do you mean one day?" Sasuke said incredulously. "I'll have you know I'm more of a match for you, scaredy cat!"

"What the hell did you just call me?" Naruto responded

Kakashi sighed and just returned to reading his book.

Hinata was going to stop them if things got too heated, but he had a feeling that for now, it wouldn't escalate beyond words.

The team resumed their journey home after a successful mission.


End file.
